Dharmapala Thangka CentreSchool of Thangka Painting

Palden Lhamo [Tib.: »dPal dan lha mo«, Sanskrit »Shri Devi«] is one of the most important protective deities in Tibetan Buddhism and the only female deity in the powerful group of the Eight Dharma Protectors [dharma-palas]. She is particularly revered by the Gelugpas, for whom she is a special protective deity of Lhasa and the Dalai Lama.

It is said that she appears at a mysterious lake, Lhamo Latso, approximately 145 km southeast of Lhasa. This lake is known for revealing reflections of the future on its surface.

The 2nd Dalai Lama, Gendün Gyatso [1475–1542], founded the Choekorgyal Monastery here in 1509. Since that time, it has been the custom for the Dalai Lamas to pay an annual visit to the monastery and the magical lake.

Palden Lhamo is the Tibetan name for Shri Devi, as she is the Tibetan manifestation of the fearsome black goddess of India.

Legend links her to Tara and Sarasvati. In Tibetan art, Palden Lhamo has appeared in the retinue of other deities since at least the 11th century, particularly in depictions of Mahakala and Yama Dharmaraja.

With her rise as the personal protective deity of the Dalai Lamas among the Gelugpas, she attained an important, independent status and became the main subject of numerous paintings. She is credited with the duty of protecting the Dalai Lamas and the government of Tibet.

She is associated with the male protectors Mahakala and Yama Dharmaraja. As Shri Devi, Palden Lhamo represents the dark forces of the Great Mother aspect in life. In Buddhism, she assumed a protective role to subdue the destructive forces of self-centeredness.

This painting is a black-ground thangka painting. Black-ground thangkas [Tib.: »nak thang«] are a common style used for wrathful deities.